Purpose
The purpose of the Accreditation Oral Examination is two-fold. The first purpose is to provide the dentist/ lab technician an opportunity to verify and authenticate passed casework. The dentist/ lab technician may be asked questions about case selection, diagnosis and treatment planning, or materials and techniques on any of their passed clinical case submissions. The dentist/ lab technician knowledge should clearly demonstrate a familiarity and understanding of these cases. Additional questions may be asked that cover related topics considered relevant by the examiners.

The second purpose of the oral examination is to provide the dentist/ lab technician with an opportunity to demonstrate their treatment planning abilities. The dentist will be presented with information regarding a pre-selected case. Adequate time will be allowed for the individual to formulate a treatment plan, which will then be shared and discussed.

Eligibility for Appearance at the Oral Examination
To take the oral examination at the next given date, the following requirements must be met:

The dentist must have passed all five required clinical cases/ lab technicians must have passed all three required clinical cases

Attended at least half of the annual scientific sessions, beginning with the session or testing center that the dentist/lab technician took and passed the written examination

Application completed and fee paid for the oral examination

Application and Fees
The application for the oral examination will be sent to the dentist once the five clinical cases have been passed. The application and fee must be received at the AACD Executive Office by the date specified by the ABCD. The fee is $500 member / $725 non-member (USD) and is non-refundable.

Postponement
The dentist/ lab technician may defer appearance for the oral examination as long as all three phases of the Accreditation process are completed within the time limit. If the oral examination is postponed in writing at least two months in advance an administrative fee of $125 (USD) must be paid to reschedule. If the oral examination is postponed with less than two months notice, the fee will be forfeited.

Guidelines for Appearance at the Oral Examination
Dress professionally and be on time. You should be completely familiar with the five clinical cases. Individuals will be required to bring their digital images and one written report from each case passed.

Clinical Cases and Documentation
Bring pre-op and post-op images on two separate memory sticks. Each memory stick will have two folders: one folder with the required RAW images, RAW technique views, x-rays, case title and treatment listing and a second folder of these images converted to JPEG files and one copy of your original written report.

Grading: Pass/Fail
Pass: With the successful completion of the oral examination, a dentist/ lab technician becomes an Accredited member in the AACD.

Fail:A dentist/ lab technician may retake the oral examination one time immediately following the expiration of their five-year time period and must successfully pass the next time the oral examination is administered. A second failure at the oral examination terminates the Accreditation process. Submission of a new written examination application is required to begin the Accreditation process again.